Happy Birthday Syd
by Knightwood
Summary: Being from a rich family, Syd's used to getting a lot on her birthday. But this year she's going to get a whole lot more than she could EVER have expected.
1. Happy Birthday Syd

Thought I'd check in with the SPD crew once again just to keep the stories a little fresher. Hoping everyone will respond to this as well as they have up until now, any comments and reviews are gratefully received, even criticisms (hey, I need to know what I'm doing wrong if I want to improve my writing.) Now to get the usual stuff out of the way.

**Rating:-** T. Mild themes, language and violence, but nothing that should seriously offend or upset anyone.

**Legal:-** I do not own Power Rangers or any of the associated names, characters, events, places etc. etc. This story is to be considered non-canon and with the exception of everything covered under the rights as stated above, all characters, places, events etc. are to be considered purely the creation of the author.

This story follows on from my last one, Departure, so obviously I'd prefer it if you read that one first. Just in case though, here's what's been happening.

Six months on since Jack left SPD and Sky became Red Ranger, Bridge became more and more focussed on his training and began spending less time with the team, becoming a virtual recluse with no real explanation. Z and Syd began expressing concerns over his behaviour to no avail. Shortly afterwards Supreme Commander Birdie Fowler retires and Kruger leaves earth to replace him, promoting Sky to Commander of SPD earth and charging him with choosing a new Red Ranger.

Bridge's mood and behaviour becomes, if anything more erratic and self-destructive. After witnessing him injure himself in training, Z pleads with Sky to talk to him and expresses real concern for his wellbeing and safety, but Sky writes this off as Z feeling left out because she has feelings for Bridge which he believes are not reciprocated. Following some careless words from an arrogant young cadet, Bridge is involved in a violent confrontation in which he inadvertently hurts Z. After an emotional talk with her, Bridge finally reveals why he's been acting so strangely. Not only is he feeling the crushing loneliness of watching all his friends leave the squad, but he is tearing himself apart physically in an attempt to single-handedly replace the entire squad.

Sky, unable to fathom what has happened in a state of confusion asks Bridge what has happened, and when Bridge refuses to speak he suspends him from active duty, causing Bridge to storm out of the complex. In an emotional display Z tells him in no uncertain terms what has been going on in Bridge's mind and what she thinks of how Sky has handled the situation, before leaving to find Bridge. Finding him outside in an emotional state, she reveals that she loves him and takes care of him during his brief homelessness.

Sky, himself distraught at how badly everything's gone is urged by Kat to find Bridge and make amends, however his confidence in his ability to lead has been shaken to his core and it is only through the intervention of Commander Kruger that he is convinced to remain at SPD and not resign his position. Having resolved to stay at the helm, he finally makes the decision that was left in his hands by Commander Kruger and promotes Bridge to the position of Red Ranger.

**Happy Birthday Syd**

Syd woke up in her dorm room, finding to her disappointment that the room was empty. She and Z had clashed heads numerous times in the early days, but the two of them had resolved their differences and become friends. So why had she left the room so early and not greeted her? It's not like she hadn't dropped a few thousand hints over the past couple of weeks that it was her Birthday.

Slowly getting up, she looked out some gym equipment and got ready to work off some frustrations in the newly refurbished gym. It had been a couple of months now since Bridge's little episode, and the only real good thing to come out of the whole sorry affair was that the gym had received a much-needed overhaul to the facilities.

Heading to the gym, she still couldn't believe that Z had done this. How could she forget her birthday? Or maybe she hadn't. Maybe she just genuinely didn't care how she felt. It's not like she was paying much attention to anything much since she got together with Bridge. The two of them had been living in each other's pockets for ages now. The display was sickening. There was no way she would ever throw herself at a man so shamelessly. Other people might have considered her attitude jealousy, but she knew better. It was just revulsion at how much Z was making herself look like a puppet on a string for her weirdo boyfriend.

Following her workout, she made her way to the communal area, with the intention of using the replicator to make herself some cake. 'It's not like anyone else is going to.' She sneered to herself. Arriving at the door, she found to her surprise that all the lights were out. Surely at least somebody should be in here by this time of the day. She pulled out her organiser just to double-check she hadn't somehow forgotten about a training exercise for the recruits as the lights came on.

"I should have known." She remarked, instantly feeling guilty about all the horrible things she'd been thinking about Z and Bridge. There they were along with Kat, Sky, SOPHIE and the new recruit Johnson, holding a cake. They had obviously been waiting a while as the candles had clearly been burning for a while, and some of the icing had begun to melt.

"We were beginning to think you'd never show up." Sky commented as he tapped his watch. "I suppose that's what we get for pretending not to notice your 80,000,000 hints about it being your birthday."

"Of course we wouldn't forget." Z interjected as she approached her dorm mate. "We couldn't forget even if we wanted to."

"I'm so glad you're all here." Syd gushed as she tried to hide her embarrassment at believing her friends could have done anything so hurtful.

"Well, put out the candles before RIC registers it as a fire hazard." Sky ordered, pushing the cake a little closer. Holding her hair clear of the candles, Syd blew hard, extinguishing the flames as her friends cheered.

"So do you have anything special planned?" SOPHIE asked.

"My mom and dad are having me over to their place for dinner." She answered. "My Aunt Kim and Uncle David will be there with Joe."

"I thought you said your only uncle died years ago?" Sky commented.

"They're not really my aunt and uncle." She replied with a little smile as she thought about them. "They're just good friends of the family. They're so close I've called them Aunt Kim and Uncle David for years. Their son Joe's kind of like a kid brother to me and Aunt Kim always has loads of really cool stories to tell."

"Really?" Z commented. "They sound pretty cool. I'd really like to meet them."

"Why don't you all come over?" Syd asked. "I'm sure my mom and dad won't mind."

"Well it has been all quiet on the scanners lately." Sky interrupted. "And the automated warning system will let us know if there's anything to worry about. So I think we can all take a little personal time."

"Wow. The ever-serious leader takes some personal time." Z retorted with a sarcastic laugh. "Will wonders never cease?"

"Call it investigation." Sky joked. "It'll be fascinating to see what kind of family produces a kid like Syd."

"You are so dead!" She yelled, grabbing the cake and showing it into his face. The others just laughed as Sky wiped cream and crumbs from his eyes.

"Little heavy on the marzipan." He quipped sarcastically as he grabbed a can of whipped cream and squirted a little swirl on his head to complete the look.

The group arrived at Syd's parent's place a little after 4. They marvelled at the size of the property, unable to comprehend the grandeur of it all. They knew Syd's parents wer rich, but this was far beyond anything they could have imagined.

"This hall way looks like it'd be big enough to land the SWAT fliers." Bridge gasped as he looked around the massive, ornate entrance hall.

"It's just as well Jack never saw this place." Z stated, more than a little awe struck herself. "He'd probably just remind you how many homeless people could sleep in this lobby."

"Well, if anything happens to the command centre." Sky began, looking around thoughtfully. "We know we have alternate premises."

"Syd!" A teenager a little younger than the Pink Ranger called out from the upper level. He was only a little taller than Syd, and while he wasn't hugely muscular, he was clearly in good shape. His thick black hair was unkempt, and looked as though he had just run it through a shower before abandoning it to do it's own thing. Charging down the stairs, he grabbed her in a playful headlock. "How's my favourite big cousin been recently?"

"Get off you big moron." She yelled, shoving him off, though the grin on her face betrayed the fact that this was not in any way an aggressive confrontation. "Guys this is Joe. Joe, I'd like you to meet…"

"I think I can probably guess. Bridge right?" He stated, shaking Bridge's hand. "She talks about you guys all the time. So you're Z aren't you? The one who keeps messing up the dorm room?"

"Is that what she tells you?" Z commented as Syd began to look a little uncomfortable.

"You must be SOPHIE. Apparently you're a real asset to the squad."

"She said that?" SOPHIE replied as she tried to hide her embarrassment.

"And this must be the new guy Johnson. Syd says you're almost as good at fencing as she is."

"Emphasis on the _almost._" Johnson answered him. "She still beats me regularly."

"So by process of elimination, you must be Sky." He concluded, offering his hand to Sky. "My cousin never shuts up about you. Personally I think she has…" Joe was quickly silenced by an elbow to the ribs from Syd. Sky noted the reaction but opted not to press the matter to save her embarrassment. He just made a mental note to give her grief about it later.

"Well Syd's told us a bit about you too." Sky responded to the teenager. "Apparently you're a bit of a surf rat."

"I try to hit the waves whenever I can." He stated.

"In other words we can never get him out of the water." An attractive, brunette woman chimed in as she made her way over to greet them. "Joe, how many times do I have to tell you not to tease Syd? You know how much she hates it!"

"But it wouldn't be any fun if she liked it mom." He answered back.

"Well try not to embarrass her in front of her friends. It is her birthday." She reprimanded him. "Hi there, I'm Kimberly." She greeted Sky.

"We…uh…all know who you are." Sky commented. "Your picture is in the Ranger Hall of Legend at SPD headquarters. We had no idea that Syd was friends with the original Pink Ranger."

"We're more like family." Kimberly said, clearly pleased by what she had heard about her place in the SPD hall of fame. "My husband David and I have known her parents for years."

"So, do they all know about you?" Sky asked.

"It was a bit of a shock for David when I told him. We had been married for a few years before he found my old pictures." She recalled as she thought about it. "But it wasn't such a great leap of faith for Syd's parents, especially since SPD was already forming back then."

"I would have thought you'd hate talking shop by now." David announced as he arrived behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "But I suppose all these young Rangers must make you feel all nostalgic."

"Hey, I'm not that old." She protested grumpily.

"Actually you're…"

"Complete that sentence and die." Kimberly warned him before he could complete the ill-considered statement.

"Mom, do we have to have domestics in front of company?" Joe whined.

"It's the sign of a healthy relationship to be able to argue in front of company." Syd's father observed sagely as he entered the room. A waiter was right behind him with a tray of champagne glasses. "You look wonderful honey. Happy Birthday."

"Oh for goodness sake Stephen." Mrs. Drew chastised him loudly. "Haven't you invited them in yet?"

"Of course, I'm sorry dearest." He apologised as he gestured them all into the main dining room. "It's just this way everyone."

They all sat down at the massive oak table as the waiters brought out the first serving of wine. Sitting at the edge of the table beside Sky, Syd offered him a glass of red, accidently spilling it down his shirt.

"Oh I'm so sorry." She apologised, grabbing a napkin and beginning to dab the stain.

"Ok the cake I kind of deserved." He chuckled as she frantically tried to clear up the stain. "But what did I do this time?"

"We can have it washed off while you're enjoying the meal." Syd's mother offered, extending a hand his way. "It'll be clean and dry by the time desert comes."

"That's alright Mrs. Drew." Sky waved her off.

"Please, I insist, and call me Alice." She pressed on. Sky removed his shirt, causing a couple of obvious reactions from the women in the room. One of the waitresses almost dropped a stack of plates at the show.

"Wow. Someone works out!" Kimberly commented. "I don't think even Jason looked that good back in the day."

"Thank you Mrs. Goodman." Sky said with a smile, clearly pleased at being compared to one of his idols, the original Red Ranger. "I try to stay in shape."

"Oh it definitely shows." Alice complimented him. "Don't you think so Syd?"

"Uh…" She tried hard, but she seemed to be unable to respond. She decided to look away, hoping to be able to answer without making it completely obvious she was enjoying getting a chance to see him half-naked. "He looks fine."

"Would you like to borrow a shirt?" Stephen asked. "I can have one…"

"That's alright Mr. Drew." Sky responded. "I wouldn't want to impose."

"Well no-one here's a prude." Alice stated. "So if you're comfortable, then that's alright. Feel free to call my husband Stephen by the way."

"Thank you." He said graciously. "So what are we having?"

"It's prawns to begin." Alice answered him, suddenly noticing Bridge holding up his hand like a school pupil wanting to answer a question. "Don't like prawns dear?"

"I wouldn't know." He replied. "I'm Jewish, so I can't eat shell fish."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Syd never mentioned that." Alice apologised. "Is there something else you'd like?"

"I don't want to be any trouble." He replied. "Could you just make me some toast or something?"

"Buttery!" All the Rangers chorused, wiggling their fingers in the air. Sky addressed the confused looks on the faces of Syd's family. "

"It's one of Bridge's quirks. It's sort of a running joke for us."

"That won't be a problem." Stephen told him as he gestured to one of the waiters to carry out his request. "Anyway. Let's hear all about Syd's exploits at SPD."

Syd shrunk a little into her chair as he said this. She just knew that it was now open season for all her friends and family to exchange all the embarrassing stories they had about her.

"I think I know where to begin." Z chimed in with a mischievous grin on her face. Syd just looked around for somewhere to hide.

After dinner, and Sky replacing his shirt, much to a lot of collective disappointment from the women in the room, the party moved out onto the patio area, where Syd's parents embarrassed her still further by beginning a round of their favourite party game.

"It works like this." Stephen explained the rules. "Everyone stands with their backs to the one chosen as the matchmaker." He then pulled out a couple of blind folds. "The matchmaker then picks two people and blindfolds them. They then bring the chosen matching pair together, and they have to kiss for everyone else to see."

"I'm not sure about this." Syd said awkwardly. "I mean there are couples here and…"

"I'm o.k. with it." Kimberly stated. "It's not like we're suggesting wife swapping or anything."

"Yeah, it sounds like fun." Z chimed in, trying to encourage her. "I'm not the jealous type, and I don't think Bridge is."

"Yeah Syd." Sky shot in. "Even I'm willing to give it a shot."

"O.K." She finally relented. "But only if I go first."

As the others turned their backs, Syd suddenly got an idea for some payback for some of the more embarrassing stories that were told over dinner. First she blindfolded Sky, then Bridge. Bringing them together as the others tried to muffle their sniggers, they began to kiss, though their collective stubble quickly let them in on the joke. After a short kiss, they whipped off their blindfolds.

"Will you leave Z for me?" Sky asked sarcastically, holding out his arms.

"Anything you say schnookums." Bridge answered, leaping into his arms.

"Alright, knock it off." Z laughed as Sky put Bridge back down. By now half the guests were in stitches.

"O.K. Sky it's your turn." Kimberly informed him. Blindfolding first Joe, then Z, he brought them together. After a brief kiss they took off their blindfolds.

"O.K. you've definitely done that before." Z remarked.

"Bridge, you're a lucky guy." Joe returned the compliment. As they all turned their backs again, it was Joe's turn to pick. As he looked around for inspiration, Z and Bridge turned towards him a little. Z pointed to Syd behind her back, while Bridge did the same for Sky. Joe chuckled as he took their suggestion and blindfolded them both.

Syd made her way towards her mystery kissing partner, just praying that it was at least one of the male guests, and not her Dad. She was beginning to regret the whole Sky/Bridge stunt as the nerves rose in her as she was finally brought to meet her partner. She brought her hand up his arm and across his neck as she tried to locate his face. 'He's got stubble, so it's a guy.' She thought with a little sigh of relief. 'And he's taller than me, so it isn't Dad or Uncle David.'

Having reassured herself of these facts, she drew her mystery man down, bringing her lips to his. Her heart raced as the warmth of the kiss caused her to lose track of the moment. She suddenly became aware his tongue was in her mouth. 'What the hell, I may as well enjoy it.' She thought, returning the gesture. As they finally parted, the couple removed their blindfolds.

Sky looked at her with a little surprise. He had never thought about Syd like that before, but there was no denying he felt a spark. He was also a little surprised that she was such a good kisser. He knew she'd had a few dates in the time he'd known her, but he never really thought about it in any real way. Syd finally broke the moment, bringing back his attention.

"You're not bad." She lied. 'What do I mean not bad?' She thought to herself. 'He was amazing! Why did I just call him amazing? How did he get so good at kissing? I can't remember him having any dates. Crap I haven't said anything in ages say something before he figures it out!' "Not bad at all."

"Thanks Syd." He replied feeling a little crestfallen at being called 'not bad'. "You were pretty good too.

Suddenly, their communicators bleeped, interrupting the game.

"Sorry, we've got to go." Sky stated. "Thanks for dinner Mrs. Drew."

"Call me Alice." She reminded him.

As they immediately made their way to the vehicles, Syd didn't catch a word of the briefing Kat relayed to them. She could only think about how for once she was actually GLAD that an alien attack had interrupted her private time.


	2. One Amazing Discovery

The Rangers arrived in the industrial area of New Tech City, finding an alien in the process of tearing apart a delivery van. It was large, heavily muscular and covered in sickly-green scales. It had four long, sharp talons on each hand, and large, multi-lensed eyes on each side of it's head that made it look like a gigantic insect. As Syd fired a warning round into the side of the van, the creature turned to face them, becoming aware of their presence.

"Stay out of this!" The creature snarled as it approached. "That delivery of gold bullion is coming with me!"

"Let's wrap this up quick so we can get Syd back to her party." Sky commanded. He drew his morpher with a little trepidation. This was gong to be the first time he'd used the Shadow Ranger powers since Kruger had given him the morpher. As the team activated their morphers, powering up, the monster pointed to Sky and began laughing.

"Nice helmet!" It remarked. "Love the ears."

"Actually it wasn't designed for me." Sky shot back, drawing the shadow sabre. "O.K. team, let's bring him down."

As they charged the alien, their batons rebounded feebly off it's scaly hide as it raked this way and that with it's talons, sending the Rangers flying.

"The batons have no effect!" Bridge remarked. "His scales are too strong."

"Then lets try something else." Sky answered him, powering up the shadow sabre and striking it to the ground. "Give up and come quietly before we have to hurt you."

"Oh I wouldn't worry about me." He replied, grabbing Sky and launching him into a nearby dumpster. "I have plenty left to give."

"Well I already got my birthday presents." Syd quipped as she launched herself at the creature, firing her blaster. The creature batted aside the blasts with it's talons, laughing at her attempt to bring him down.

"Well let me wish you a happy birthday." It snarled, slashing her twice across the ribs, de-morphing her. "With a trip to the hospital!" As the third blow came, the others could only watch in horror as Syd flew into the nearby wall. Sliding down it to the ground, the huge, open wound across her chest bled profusely.

"We need to take this guy down NOW!" Bridge yelled, powering up to SWAT mode. "Containment blast." He screamed, as the salvo fired in the alien's direction, trapping him in a containment device.

"Power down!" Sky called as he saw Syd lying on the ground unconscious. Sprinting over to her side, he pulled out his communicator. "Kat we have a Ranger down. Syd's been hurt bad. Send urgent medical assistance."

He pulled off his shirt, using it as a makeshift bandage, pulling it around her tightly as he tried to stem the flow of blood. "Syd. Can you hear me?" He yelled. "Syd."

She groaned a little as she started to come to. Sky was happy that she had regained consciousness, it was better that she was responsive so they would know if things got worse, he just wished she wasn't obviously in so much pain.

"Don't try to move." He whispered to her. "Help's on the way. You'll be in the infirmary soon."

"What about…"

"We got him." Sky interrupted her. "You just hang on."

As the medical unit arrived and loaded Syd on board, Sky got in the vehicle with her. "Bridge. Call her parents and tell them to meet us at the infirmary." He commanded as he shut the doors, allowing the medical team to speed her to the infirmary.

A couple of hours later, Syd was lying in the infirmary when Sky walked into the room carrying a bunch of grapes.

"Hey, usually you wait for the rest of the team." He joked as he sat down beside her. "What's the big idea rushing in without backup?"

"Just impatient to get back I suppose." She replied. "I'm sorry I messed up."

"Hey don't worry about it." Sky stated. "If I had a dollar for every time I messed up, I'd be richer than your dad."

"Thanks Sky." She replied, taking his hand in her own.

"Just try not to do that again." He told her. "You do want to have more birthdays don't you?"

"Of course I do." She replied. "Where else can I see you kissing Bridge?"

"We all had a good time." He laughed at the memory. Noticing her parents her family friends out in the hall, Sky took this as his time to leave. "I should get back to the command centre and file some papers." He lied diplomatically a he got up. "I'll be down later OK?"

"Thanks Sky." She repeated as he left. Sky nodded courteously to her family as he left, and continued on his way. Her mother came to the edge of her bed.

"We were all so worried when we heard sweetie." She said sympathetically. "You should be more careful. There's a whole squad of you for a reason."

"I'm fine mom." Syd groaned as she rolled her eyes. Her parents were always over protective. "I'll be out of here by tomorrow; no doubt I'll be back on duty by the end of the week."

"You could have died honey." Her dad pressed her. "You needed a transfusion."

"We all aged about 10 years when we heard." Kimberly chimed in, stroking Syd's hair. "We were all beside ourselves.

"You always do have to get all the attention." Joe interrupted. "Just try to do it for something like getting drunk, or falling over rather than being cut up by an alien."

"I'll bear that in mind in the future." Syd answered him.

"You should probably get some rest." David suggested. "You did take one hell of a shot there."

"We'll see you soon sweetheart." Her mother reiterated the sentiment. As they got up to leave, Syd reached up and grabbed Kimberly's arm as she noticed something odd.

"Auntie Kimberly, What happened to your arm?" She asked, looking at a band aid just inside the joint of her elbow.

"Oh, I just gave a little blood recently." She said as she looked to her husband. "Nothing important, just doing my bit."

"But I never noticed it at the party." Syd continued.

"I didn't want you to worry, but I gave you the transfusion." Kimberly informed her. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

"Hang on, why didn't mom or dad give me the transfusion?" She asked. "I'd have thought they'd be a better match."

"Not always sweetie." Her mother shot in. "Sometimes it just doesn't work out that way."

"No, this doesn't make sense." She reiterated. "How could neither of you be a match for my blood type?"

"Alice, maybe it's time we told her." Her dad said softly.

"Stephen, what are you saying?" She asked. "Can't you see how rough today's been on her? It'd only upset her."

"What are you talking about?" Syd asked as the confusion built in her. "Mom, what is dad talking about?"

"I think we should go." Kimberly said as she got off the bed.

"Honey, maybe we should stay." David replied.

"You guys are really freaking me out!" Syd yelled, reminding them of her presence in the room. "Would someone please just tell me what's going on?"

"Stephen we're upsetting her!" Alice wiled as tears began to form in her eyes.

"Alice, she's already upset! Hell we've kept this from her too long already." He yelled back. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he took her hands in his own as he steeled himself to tell them the secret the four of them had kept from her for so many years. "Honey, you know we'd never do anything to hurt you. We love you, we always will, there's no easy way to tell you this."

"Dad, you're scaring me." Syd interrupted. "What's going on?"

Breathing a heavy sigh, he answered her question. "The reason we couldn't give you the blood transfusion is because we're not your real parents." He looked into her eyes as the weight of what he had just said hit her. "Kimberly and David are."

"What?" She asked as tears streamed down her face. "How? What are…"

The tears began to show in Kimberly's eyes as she spoke. "Almost twenty years ago I was abducted by a man calling himself Dr. Black." As she recalled the incident, the heartache was still evident in her expression. "It was major news at the time. He kidnapped several women and held them prisoner so he could steal and sell their babies." She paused for a second as she wiped the tears from her face. "You were my first child. He stole you from me on the day you were born and sold you."

"Your uncle didn't die in a fire like we told you." Stephen informed her. "He died a few years ago in prison."

"We were so desperate for a baby." Alice interjected as she sniffed back the tears. "But we were both sterile. We tried every adoption agency in the country but we were always turned down. Your uncle told us that he had adopted you from abroad and gave you to us. We had no idea he had bought you."

"Bought me?" Syd yelled a little incredulously. "What am I? A possession?"

"Of course you're not princess." Stephen breathed. "We loved you with all our hearts. We raised you like you were our own. We couldn't have loved you more if you were our biological daughter."

"So my uncle bought me?" She asked. "And that's why he went to prison?"

"He went to prison when it was discovered who your parents really were." Stephen informed her. "Eventually all the babies that were stolen were tracked down. David and Kimberly came to meet with us."

"But I only met them…"

"When you were already thirteen years old." Kimberly interrupted. "We knew your parents had nothing to do with the sale, and it just didn't seem fair to rip you from your life. You had always grown up knowing them as your parents." Kimberly pulled a little closer, stroking her hair reassuringly. "So we discussed what to do."

"We loved you so much, we still wanted to be a part of your life." Stephen told her. "But we couldn't deny the fact that we had no claim to you. Kimberly and David wanted to be a part of your life, but they could see how happy you were with us, so we came to an agreement. They would be a part of your life, and we would allow them to see you whenever they liked, and they agreed not to take you from us and allow you to continue living here."

"No!" Syd screamed, picking up a small metal object, turning her hand into steel and striking the edge of the bed and denting the safety rail. "This is insane! It can't be true. You HAVE to be my parents. I have these powers because you were exposed to the proton enhancers while SPD was being set up. You HAVE to be my parents."

"They weren't the only ones involved in the programme." David interrupted her. "During the later stages of testing the morphing technology they needed to know how it would affect humans. I was their medical expert at the time."

"Honey I know this is a shock…" Alice began only to be cut off as Syd turned onto her side on the bed, turning her back to them.

"Everything you've ever told me is a lie!" She screeched. "I don't want to see any of you ever again!"

"Sweetheart, we all did what we thought was best." Stephen protested weakly. "It was an impossible situation for all of us."

"GET OUT!" She roared, turning to face them, her face flashing red with exertion as she screamed "I hate you all! You've lied to me every day of my life! I never want to see any of you again! GET OUT!"

With that, she turned over and began weeping uncontrollably into her pillow. Kimberly reached out to touch her daughter only to be stopped by her husband. This was not the time. She had to get over the shock of the evening's revelations. As they all left the room in tears, they brushed past Bridge in the hall, barely even registering his presence.

"What's eating them?" He wondered before heading into the room, finding Syd in tears.

"Syd, What's happened?" He asked. "Are you still hurt? Do you want me to get someone from medical?"

"No one can help me." She sobbed. "Could you just leave me alone?"

"You know where I'll be if you change your mind." He replied, respecting her privacy and leaving the room. As Syd continued to stare into space, the warm tears stinging her eyes, she struggled with everything she'd heard. Her parents weren't her parents. Her friends were her parents, and everyone she cared about had lied to her since she was born. She had no idea who she was, and that thought terrified her more than any monster she'd ever faced.


	3. Painful Times

Syd sat alone in her dorm room, flicking through one of her fashion magazines, though not really able to take anything in. She had been discharged from the infirmary two days ago, and had been ordered to rest up to help her injuries heal, but there was no way she could heal all of her injuries, not the ones that hurt the most.

She picked up her cell phone as it bleeped, logging yet another missed message from her mom, taking the total to 43. As anger welled up in her over the depth of the betrayal she felt, she hurled the phone as hard as she could, causing it so smash into several pieces that flew through the air in all directions. Z only just managed to duck as she entered the room, avoiding having the phone become lodged in her skull.

"What did I do?" She shrieked.

"Stupid phone." Syd snapped, pulling her favourite soft toy, peanuts, closer and holding it tightly. "I never liked it."

"That's not what it looked like to me." Z joked as she sat down on the bed next to her. "Usually you're surgically attached to it like it's providing oxygen."

"That was when I had someone to talk to." Syd replied with a sigh.

"You know we're always here." Z comforted her, placing an arm around her shoulders. "All of us. I don't know what went down between you and your parents but…"

Syd just got up wordlessly, heading out of the room. Realising the rudeness in her actions, she tried to rectify the situation half-heartedly from the door. "Thanks Z." She whispered, before trudging out into the hallway.

Z just sat in the dorm room, contemplating how her friend was acting. She knew that something had upset her when her parents and their friends had come to visit, but Syd had shut off from everyone, and just told everyone to leave her alone. She couldn't understand what could possibly have happened that would upset her so much, or why her parents hadn't come back. It concerned her that Syd didn't seem to want to speak with anyone, least of all the people she should be able to trust with anything.

Sky and Bridge were catching up on sparring practice in the gym when Syd arrived. They had been going at it for quite a while now and it seemed like the line between friendly competition and outright competition was becoming more than a little blurred. Sky appeared to have the upper hand, but Bridge was so unpredictable that was not really a bench mark. Noticing Syd enter the room, Sky suddenly became distracted, and without paying attention, stepped carelessly straight into a roundhouse kick from Bridge. Even though Bridge was pulling the kick, Sky's own forward motion drove him onto the kick, causing his head to snap back aggressively as his jaw rattled and he collapsed to the floor.

"God, Sky I'm sorry!" He blurted out as he rushed to his side. "I tried to pull it, are you O.K.?"

"I'll live." He replied stroking his jaw as he accepted a hand from Bridge and pulling himself back to his feet. "I think that's enough for today, same time tomorrow?"

"Sure." Bridge shot back as he nervously wiped the sweat from his face with a towel. He was clearly still feeling guilty about almost taking his friend's head off. "I'll give you a rematch."

"Don't worry about it." Sky consoled him. "I wasn't paying attention. It's my fault."

As Bridge left the room, Sky made his way over to where Syd was gently pedalling away on an exercise bike. "Are you sure you should be doing that?" He asked. "It wasn't that long ago you were stitched back together."

"The doctor says I can do some low-impact exercises." She answered him. "I'll just a few minutes on this for today."

Sky dragged an exercise bench over beside the bike and sat down, opening his water bottle. "I haven't seen your parents back since they visited you in the infirmary." He commented. "Is everything alright between you?"

"What makes you think they aren't?" She replied coldly, trying to ignore him.

"You practically get ripped in half and your parents only visited you once." Sky remarked looking at her. "When I broke my leg three years ago I couldn't get my mom out of the place." He placed a hand on hers on the handle of the exercise bike. "You don't seem like yourself. You've been upset about something for days now. You can talk to me. You know that right?"

"As my commanding officer?" She hissed, flicking his hand away.

"As your friend." He replied as a look of surprise crossed his face. "Seriously what's eating you? I'd really like to know, maybe I can help you."

"Like you helped Bridge?" She snapped, getting off the bike. That hurt. Sky had almost resigned when he failed to notice Bridge's virtual breakdown. It had taken him a long time to get over that failure, and it still hurt like hell when he was reminded of it. Something was obviously seriously wrong if she was willing to resort to low blows like that. "Maybe I don't want to talk, have you considered that? And maybe, JUST MAYBE the reason I don't seem like myself any more is because I don't know who in the hell that is!"

As she sprinted from the room in tears, Sky watched her go with a look of confusion on his face. What did she mean by that? What was going on? And why did it bother him so much to see her so upset?

Syd made her way to the communal area to try and catch some time alone. Wiping her eyes dry, she headed over to the food replicator, and set it to make her some strong coffee. Her physician probably wouldn't advise it, but she wanted some caffeine and she wanted it now! Collecting the cup, she sat down in the corner on a large bean bag and began sipping. It began to bother her the way she had spoken to Sky. She knew he only wanted to help make her feel better, and of all the things she could do she screamed at him. Worse still, she hit him where she knew it would hurt him the most. She had taken out her own pain on one of her best friends and it upset her to think about that.

She again cursed her parents for doing this to her. Just a few short days ago, everything had been so simple. She just knew that her mom and dad loved her. She just knew that her Aunt and Uncle loved coming to see her. She just knew that her annoying little cousin was one of her best friends in the whole world. But now what? What was real? Her cousin was in fact her younger brother. She had wished for a sibling so much her entire life, only to find out that she'd had a brother all along and her parents just hadn't told her about it.

Even that was up in the air. They weren't her parents. They had lied to her since the day she arrived. Did they even love her at all? What else were they keeping from her? Had they actually been the ones to buy her? Did they lie about that as well? She felt bad for her real parents. They'd had their first born child taken from them on the day she was born, but they had found her. They had known where she was, not only known, but they had actually met her. They had been a part of her life, gotten to know her over the last six years! They had been stringing her along in this sham of a life for six years.

As she continued to sip her coffee, RIC came to her side, and began nudging her hand with his head. She knew that strictly speaking he didn't have feelings, but she always found it cute when he performed displays of affection like that. She began absent-mindedly stroking the robotic dog's head, feeling a little better about herself. Looking around to make sure no-one was listening, she took the chance to verbalise some of the thoughts in her head.

"Hey there boy." She greeted the robot. "You know I would really love to be just like you right now. You never have to think about where you came from, you have a manufacturer's marking." She carried on sipping away on her coffee and stroking RIC, who by now was leaning in close to her. "You never have to worry about anyone lying to you. You already know everything you need to. If you find out anything you don't want to know, you can just wipe your memory." She sighed as she finished her coffee. "Best of all, you never feel any pain. You never get hurt be the people closest to you." Placing the cup down on a nearby table, she carried on with her thoughts. "I can't believe that they would lie to me about something so important. Did they not think I should know that I didn't belong to them? Did they not think I had a right to know who my real parents were?"

She quickly clamed up as SOPHIE and Bridge entered the room, retrieving her cup and placing it back in the food replicator to be recycled.

"Hi Syd." SOPHIE greeted her as she sat on the couch. "How are you feeling?"

"My ribs still feel a bit tender." She answered. "But I'm sure I'll live."

"Would you like to join us for breakfast?" Bridge asked. "It's a while before our next training session."

"Thanks, but I think I'm going to have a lie down." She replied as she left the room. "I'll probably see you later?"

"What's up with her?" SOPHIE asked.

"I could always…" Bridge began to answer, gesturing to his glove. SOPHIE stopped him.

"If she wanted us to know she would tell us." She told him. "That just wouldn't be right."

"I suppose you're right." He groaned as he relented and made his way over to the replicator. "Toast?"

"Don't you eat anything else?" She asked.

Sky sat in his office thinking about his earlier run in with Syd. She had totally gone off the deep end with him. It pained him to see his friend hurting and not being able to do anything about it. He had always liked Syd, even in the early days. She had seemed like a bit of a self-important pampered princess to everyone at first, but she quickly proved to be a more than capable fighter, and could easily keep pace with any of the others in training.

He also remembered finding some of her mannerisms quite endearing. He loved the way she always said what was on her mind, even when she did say something that irritated him. She always pouted when she was being told off that he always thought was quite cute, and she always played with her hair when she was daydreaming.

He remembered with a small laugh to himself one of the first assignments they had together. Jack had ordered them to stand guard over a shipment of diamonds. He had begun to get a little irritated by her daydreaming, and he lost his temper when she started throwing diamonds at him, and dumped a whole water bottle over her head. She hadn't been happy about it at the time, but they quickly found a way to laugh at the whole incident. She even complimented him, telling him she liked his smile. He didn't know why he'd thought of that, or why he still couldn't get his mind off the kiss they shared at the party. She'd described him as _not bad_. 'I'll show you _not bad_.' He thought. 'Next time I'll bring my a-game. Hang on, did I just think about _next time_?'

His thoughts were interrupted as Kat brought Syd's family into his office. Sky got up from his seat to greet them.

"Hello." He greeted them as he tried to compose himself, slightly confused as to why they were there. "Can I help you with something?"

"We wanted to talk to Syd." Alice answered him sadly. "We had a big fight when we were here last time. She refused to answer her phone, then suddenly this morning her phone stopped accepting calls. We really want to make things right with her."

"We all feel terrible about how things went the other day." Kimberly added. "She hasn't spoken to us in days; we're all really worried about her."

"I'll show you to her room." Sky told them. "I don't know what the story is, but Syd's been pretty unhappy here for a couple of days. Anything I can do to help."

With that, Sky lead them from his office in the direction of the living quarters.

Syd arrived back in her dorm and threw herself onto the bed, opening a file she had checked out of the archives. Opening it us, she pulled out several copies of legal documents and old newspapers. Picking up the first paper, she read the headline.

'Las Vegas In Shock Over Horrific Baby Snatching syndicate.' The reporter sited the source as some little known news reporter from New Youk named Cassidy Cornell. Syd wrote the name down on a piece of foolscap, resolving to look further into that later. She continued to read the article.

'When New York news reporter Cassidy Cornell published alleged evidence of inhuman and despicable trade in stolen babies, many believed the story to be pure tabloid speculation. However, an official enquiry launched in Las Vegas Central Hospital has uncovered several of the inconsistencies listed in Ms. Cornell's story revealing them to be true.

'Noted paramedic Bruce Cameron, Dr. Henry Wainwright and Coroner Dr. Alan Long were all found to be connected by a series of inconsistent death records which appear to have been forged to cover the disappearance of seventeen women, twelve of whom were later returned to the Central Hospital by mysterious saviours whom many alleged were Power Rangers.

'All three men were found dead under mysterious, yet violent and suspicious circumstances in and around Las Vegas. However the escapees testimony lead authorities to a fallout shelter built during the cold war which was once thought abandoned, where they found three living suspects and a multitude of forensic evidence in what many are calling the greatest human tragedy in Nevada's long history.'

She had to stop, wiping away a tear as she read the story. She noted the names of the hospital workers who were connected to the case, before scoring them out and writing 'deceased' next to the names. Those were going to be no use. Steeling herself for more, she carried on.

'John and Andrew Matthews, who were identified by the captives as Dr. Green and Dr. Brown are being held on multiple counts of abduction with a heavy body of evidence against them and are expected to serve multiple life sentences, While disgraced former doctor Marion Foster, a.k.a. Dr. White was connected forensically to the deaths of at least three women over a two year period and faced the possibility of execution. The three men identified a fourth man, Dr. Lucius Gordon as ringleader Dr. Black, and their statements were backed up by several of the captives. However, with no forensic evidence placing Dr. Black to the location, and the defence questioning the reliability of the witnesses, it is uncertain if any charges will be brought against Dr. Gordon.'

She wrote down the names, then placed the paper on the bed, picking up the following days paper. She read the headline with astonishment.

'Vigilante Strikes. Noted doctor shot dead on national television.'

She carried on with the story in interest.

'In what appears to be an incident of vigilante justice, Dr. Lucius Gordon was shot dead by an unknown sniper as his lawyer answered questions for the press outside Las Vegas Supreme Court. Forensic experts state he was struck by two high-velocity rounds, though mysteriously no rounds were found by the coroner's office. With no ballistics evidence and all the hallmarks of a professional hit, it is unlikely that the perpetrator will be found.'

She crossed Dr Gordon's name off her list, writing deceased beside it. His name wouldn't get her any answers either. She carried on with the search, the next paper in the file dating approximately six months after the headline about Dr. Gordon.

'Baby Trade Monsters Sentenced. Today the three men involved in the International Baby Theft Racket were convicted and sentenced. John and Andrew Matthews were sentenced to serve seventeen consecutive life sentences totalling a staggering 185 years. Their accomplice Marion Foster was convicted of five homicides earning him the most severe sentence permissible by state law, execution by lethal injection. Famed singer and former captive Kira Ford was quoted as saying, "I stand by my earlier statements to the press that I always have been and always will be opposed to the death penalty. I have a lot of reasons to be resentful to Marion Foster, and many other people have good reason to want him dead, but I cannot express any joy in his sentence. I would, however, like to applaud the legal system for it's handling of the case and am happy that justice has been done in the majority of cases. Now my thoughts and prayers are with those women who were not as fortunate as myself, and hope the authorities can track the missing children and return them to their respective families.'

Syd was amazed at reading her name. She could remember meeting Kira once when she was brought forward in time by Broodwing, but she had only been about 18 then. She had no idea that so much had happened to her, or that she had been involved in the case. As she scored Marion Foster's name off her list, Z entered the room.

"Hey Syd." She greeted her. "What are you reading?"

"Just some archive stuff for a project." She spat out the half-truth as she rifled through some other things. The rest of the files appeared to be assorted death certificates, and there also appeared to be some birth certificates with a sheet stapled to them marked "Correction." She stuffed them back into the folder in case Z got a look at one with her own name on it. Fortunately, she appeared to be too interested in the old paper about the child abductions.

"Man, I heard about this." She breathed with a little shock. "It's one of this countries' legendary cases. I still feel freaky when I think something like that went on."

"I suppose all the children involved got back to their families in the end." Syd sighed deeply. "They probably got back together with their parents so quickly there was no lasting damage."

"Not all of them." Z commented. "I heard some of the kids didn't get found for years. Can you imagine what that must be like? I know I never knew my parents, but I can't imagine what it would be like to have some stranger walk up to you and say 'hey by the way we're your parents, wanna come over for dinner'?"

"Pretty horrible I'd imagine." Syd croaked, trying to hide her face as her tears started. Just then, Sky arrived, knocking on the door frame gently.

"Your Mom and Dad are here." He greeted her. "They brought Kimberly and David too."

Syd got up, hiding her face and sprinted from the room sobbing. Z followed her, trying to catch up. Sky's jaw clenched tightly as his patience for this was wearing extremely thin. As Kimberly tried to follow, he thrust his arm across the door, barring her path.

"O.K. this has gone on long enough." He hissed aggressively. "I want some answers."

"But Syd…"

"Is obviously very upset." He interrupted. "And no-one is leaving this room until I know why."

"This is a family matter." Stephen stated. "If we could…"

"It's a family matter which is deeply troubling one of my team Mr. Drew." Sky shot back glaring him straight in the eye. "And more importantly one of my best friends whom I care about very much, so like I said, no-one is leaving this room until I get some answers."

At this point, RIC came into the room, brushing past him into the dorm room.

"Not now RIC." Sky snapped. "I'm trying to find out what's going on with Syd."

At this, RIC fired up his projector, displaying a holographic image of the conversation she had with him earlier.

"Hey there boy. You know I would really love to be just like you right now. You never have to think about where you came from, you have a manufacturer's marking."

'What does she mean by that?' He thought as the message continued.

"You never have to worry about anyone lying to you. You already know everything you need to. If you find out anything you don't want to know, you can just wipe your memory. Best of all, you never feel any pain. You never get hurt be the people closest to you."

He glared at her family for a second. What could they have done to her?

"I can't believe that they would lie to me about something so important. Did they not think I should know that I didn't belong to them? Did they not think I had a right to know who my real parents were?"

As the message finished playing, Sky's jaw was almost on the floor. Picking up the newspaper on Syd's bed about the child abductions he turned once more to her family.

"I care about Syd a great deal." He stated as his eyes began to sparkle a little. "Now I suggest someone tells me what this is all about before I start finding reasons to arresteach and every one of you."


	4. A Good Friend Speaks

Sky sat on the edge of Syd's bed just staring into space as Mr. Drew finished the story. He was completely taken aback by everything they had just told him. He could do nothing but stare back at them with an expression as though he'd just been hit with a sledgehammer. "So Sydney is your daughter?" He asked weakly, pointing as Kimberly and David as though somehow asking for clarification would make it not true.

"We never wanted to upset her." Kimberly interjected. "The last thing any of us ever wanted was for Syd to get hurt. That's why when we found her we left her with Alice and Stephen. It broke our hearts for thirteen years not knowing what happened to our little girl, then when we found her, we knew we couldn't tear her away from her life. It wouldn't have been fair."

"And this is?" He asked a little indignantly. "You should have told her! She had a right to know!"

"She was thirteen!" Mr. Drew snapped in response. "Do you really think she could have understood?"

"You never even gave her a chance!" Sky yelled back. "The whole reason she's so upset is because the very people who care about her the most are the ones who have been lying to her for her entire life." He backed down a little, trying to calm down and keep his temper in check. "I can understand why you did what you did. And for what it's worth I don't think you're bad people. If anything Syd's lucky to have people that care about her so much." He paused as he gathered his thoughts. "But you have to understand overnight, she's just found out that everything's different. She's hurt and confused and I don't know if any of you should approach her right now while she's feeling like that."

"We just want to explain." Kimberly stated.

"I know you do." Sky told her. "But now probably isn't the right time, I think you should leave her for a while."

"So what are you going to do?" Alice asked him.

"I'm going to go and find her." He replied as he got up to leave the room. "I'm going to go and talk to her and be there for her during her time of need. She's my friend, and I think that's probably what she needs right now."

With that, Sky left the room, leaving Syd's family there, united in their concern for the daughter they loved so much.

Z found Syd outside the building, crying into the fountain outside the base. She just stood, staring into the fountain at her reflection, trying to get a bearing on exactly who she was. Looking at herself, she couldn't help but compare features. She had David's bright blue eyes, stroking her cheek, she noticed that she had Kimberly's face. The nose, the cheekbones, She couldn't believe she had never noticed the resemblance before. Obviously she'd never really had a reason to compare before, but looking at it now, the resemblance was obvious. Her hair was a bit of a sticking point, she'd been dying it and styling it in her familiar wavy locks for so long she almost couldn't remember what it was like when it hadn't been styled. Z looked into the fountain, distracting Syd from her thoughts.

"Trust you to find a mirror, even out here." Z interrupted her with a small laugh. "Look, I don't know what's going on with your family, but do you really want to shut them out?" Sydney just shrugged wordlessly as she continued to stare at the fountain. "Look, I may be out of line here, but when I was growing up, I didn't even know my family. Until I met Jack, no-one was ever there for me." She placed her arm around her shoulders, holding her close. "Since I met Jack and you guys, I know I would hate to try coping by myself again."

"Thanks Z." She replied. "I appreciate what your trying to do. I'm just not ready to talk to them yet."

"What did they do?" Z asked her as her curiosity increased. "What could they have done to you to make you so upset?"

As Syd was about to speak, Sky arrived, standing over them.

"Z, could you give us a minute?" He asked. She felt like protesting, but she had a feeling that she had progressed as far as she was going to with Syd, and she could tell Sky wasn't going to do anything stupid. Stroking Syd'd back once more, she got up and wordlessly left the area.

"I know about your parents." He told her sympathetically. Syd looked at him with a mixture of shock and hurt. "RIC replayed the conversation you had with him, and I made your family fill in the blanks. I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

As Syd buried her face in her hands and began crying, Sky sat down beside her and pulled her into a warm, caring hug. "I can't begin to imagine how much this hurts. I can only imagine what you must be feeling."

"I don't know who I am anymore." She sobbed, holding him tighter. "Everything I ever knew was based on a lie."

"The emphasis is on 'based on'." He replied as he rocked her gently. "You're still the same person you were three days ago. You are one of the kindest, bravest and most amazing people I have ever met. You've achieved so much in your life, not because of your parents, but because of your own efforts. No-one can ever take that away from you."

"I just feel so alone." She continued. "I don't even know if they ever loved me."

"I felt alone when my father disappeared." He told her. "Let me finish." He interrupted as she pulled away a little. "I felt like I'd never know love again. I idolised him for so long. He was everything to me. But eventually the pain became bearable, and I realised that I still had that love. My dad was gone, but my mom was still there for me."

"But I've lost all of them." Syd replied.

"Have you?" He asked. "I know you're hurt, confused and understandably angry about all of this. But what have they been doing since you found out?"

"Alice and Kimberly have been calling me non-stop since I threw them out of the infirmary." She said as she wiped away her tears. "Then they showed up here today."

"They came to my office." Sky informed her. "They came because they were worried about you, and they couldn't get a hold of you on your cell phone." He pulled closer. "They left messages, but they really panicked when your phone no longer accepted calls."

"It's in about fifty pieces in the trash." Syd responded. "I almost launched it through Z's head because they wouldn't stop phoning me."

"Doesn't all that tell you something?" He asked her. "I know this hurts right now, and it will probably take a long time before it stops hurting. But think about it. Jack and Z would have loved to have parents that loved them and looked out for them so much. I know I'd give anything to have my dad back so I'd have both my parents there for me." He pulled her once again into a deep, warm hug. "Most people are lucky enough to have two parents look after them like that." He pulled away a short way to look into her eyes. "You have four. Everything they've ever done is because they love you."

"Thanks Sky." She replied as she pulled him down, kissing him on the cheek.

"You're welcome Syd." He answered her, smiling a little. "Now, don't you think there's someone else you should talk to?"

"Would you come with me?" She asked.

"You know I will." He replied taking her hand in his own. "I told your family to wait in the command centre."

With that, they made their way, hand in hand to speak to her parents for the first time since the whole nightmare had begun.

Sydney and Sky arrived in the command centre a little while later, finding her family there. Stephen held Alice while talking to her soothingly as they waited. Kimberly paced the room nervously as she waited while David sat in the corner holding his head in his hands. They all immediately looked up nervously as they saw her arrive.

"Could we all get a little privacy?" Sky asked as he gestured to the door. Everyone else in the room left as he said this. Syd looked down at her shoes as her family approached, trying to find the words she wanted to say to them.

"Syd has asked that I stay." Sky informed them as he closed the door to the command centre. "We won't be disturbed."

"Sydney, we're all really sorry you had to find out this way." Alice began. "When we first found out about this ourselves, we didn't think you'd be able to understand. We thought we were doing what was best for you."

"The thing that hurts the most is that you never told me." She replied. "I had to find out like this. Why did you never say anything?"

"We would have." Kimberly answered her, moving a little closer. "But there never seemed to be a good time. You were too young when we first found out, and as time passed it just seemed to get even harder. We would never want to hurt you, so we just let you go on believing that Alice and Stephen were your parents. We made a mistake, we know we did."

"I can't imagine what it must have been like for all of you." Syd pressed on. "I read into the case a little. I can't begin to imagine what it must have been like for Aunt Kimberly and Uncle David to lose their daughter. It must have been horrible."

"It broke our hearts." David told her. "I almost bankrupted myself trying to find you. It took me thirteen long years to finally track you down. There wasn't a day that went by in all those years that we never thought about you, never dreamed that we'd finally see you again. By the time we did, you were already such a beautiful young woman."

"We knew the second we arrived that we were right about you. You were so beautiful and such a happy little girl." Kimberly reminisced. "We couldn't possibly have done anything to hurt you."

"When the David and Kimberly arrived with the court order, we were just terrified that they'd take you away. We loved you with all of our hearts and it would have killed us to have to hand you over." Alice interjected. "We couldn't believe our good fortune when Kimberly and David offered to talk about an arrangement. We thought all of our Christmases had come at once when they agreed to let you stay with us. We were only too happy to let them into your life."

"Please don't hate us honey." Stephen croaked as tears welled up in his eyes. "We couldn't bear it if we lost you now. Please don't turn your back on us because we made mistakes."

"I could never hate you." Syd sobbed, pulling them all in. "I love you all." With that, the large and unorthodox family shared a tearful group hug in the command centre. "I'm so sorry for everything I said in the infirmary. I could never hate you. Please forgive me."

Noting the emotional scene, Sky turned on his heel and quietly left the command centre to make the trip to his office. He was pleased that he had been there to help Syd. It lifted his spirit to see her happy again.

"There's nothing to forgive sweetheart." Alice sniffed, holding her daughter close. "You were hurt and you were angry, we all understand that."

"Thanks…mom." She replied. It was a small gesture, but an important one. That one little word let Mrs. Drew know that everything was going to be alright between her family and her daughter.

"I think someone's missing." Stephen commented as they finally released each other, noting Sky's absence.

"What are you talking about dad?" She asked, looking around.

"I'd say your beau has decided to leave us to it." Kimberly chimed in.

"Sky?" Syd asked a little puzzled. "We're just friends. He…"

"Is a friend who told us he cares about you very much." David interrupted her. "A friend who did everything in his in his power to make things right between us."

"He even threatened to arrest all of us if we didn't tell him what was upsetting you." Alice informed her. "He got the full story from us, he agreed to talk to you and he made sure we all got together. Don't you think that's a bit above and beyond the call of duty for a friend?"

"Not to mention the way he reacted to that kiss you gave him at the party." Kimberly reminded her. "Something tells me he wouldn't mind a repeat performance.

"You really think he likes me like that?" Syd asked. "I wouldn't have ever…"

"Now don't try to lie to me and tell me you haven't thought about it young lady." Alice interrupted. "We all saw the way you acted around him at the party. You enjoyed that kiss as much as anyone."

"Not to mention you went as pink as your uniform when he took his shirt off." Kimberly teased her.

"Maybe you should talk to him." Stephen encouraged her.

"But what about…"

"We're your family. We're not going anywhere." David cut her off. "Now go after him."

Syd hugged her family once more before rushing from the room to find Sky. Looking at each other, her family finally felt like Syd was going to be alright.

"They'd make a really cute couple." Kimberly commented. "He's a really nice guy."

"You just want to see him with his shirt off again, don't you?" David teased her. Kimberly giggled a little and shoved him.

"I think he'd be really good for her." Stephen concurred with the assessment. "And this is coming from a very over-protective father."

"Pretty much all of her ex-boyfriends can vouch for that." Alice replied as they all shared a moment of unity.

Syd ran down the corridor, almost sending Kat flying as she bumped into her.

"Sorry Kat, have you seen Sky?" She blurted out.

"He's in his office." Kat replied, looking at the stack of folders Syd had caused her to drop onto the floor."

"Thanks Kat." She shouted sprinting away. "Sorry!"

"Don't mention it." She groaned, picking up her folders. "It only took me half an hour to sort them out last time."

Sky sat in his office with a satisfied grin on his face, thinking about the days events. He finally knew why Syd was hurting so much, and best of all, he'd helped her begin to fix the mess. It made him feel good to know that not all his decisions and practices worked out as disastrously as the situation with Bridge. As he sat, staring out of his window, a pair of small hands suddenly covered his eyes.

"Guess who." Came a familiar voice from behind him.

"Syd?" He asked. As she removed her hands, he turned to face her. "Did you work out things with your family?"

"Not yet, but we made a start." She commented.

"Well maybe you should ask your commanding officer for some personal time to go see them, talk things through." He suggested.

"But you…" Her voice tailed off as she realised what he was getting at. "Thanks Sky."

"Don't mention it." He told her. "I'm just glad I could help you."

"There is something else you could help me with." She said, moving closer.

"Anything, just name it." He replied.

Placing a hand, tenderly on his cheek, she moved closer, bringing her lips to his, and within seconds, they were once again back at the party, sharing what at the time neither one of them wanted to admit was by far one of the most passionate and beautiful moments of their lives.

"Syd…I…"

"Thank you Sky." She reiterated again. "It took a lot for me to get through this, but it made me realise something. I love you."

They kissed again, losing themselves completely in the moment, before finally parting some time later.

"Happy Birthday Syd." Sky said to her, looking deep into the eyes of the woman he'd fallen in love with.

Fin.


End file.
